Albert Lee owners... sell me

[IFT1989]

As I'm shopping for exactly which EBMM will be my next baby (other brands just aren't entering the equation at this point) I find the funky, weird and somewhat awkward Albert Lee growing on me little by little. While I've always been a 'bucker guy, I know from experiance that I would be perfectly fine with a single coil in the bridge. I'm playing through an Orange TH30 combo and I have a Boss OD-3 if i need that extra "hit". My distortion needs top out around Defeater/Touche Amore (and Touche uses a Telecaster into a Twin Reverb) so I really don't need "metal distortion".
I guess what I'm saying is... I'm 90 percent sold on an HSH Silo, but all you Albert fans, whats your take? What makes you love this guitar? I WANT to love it. (also if anyone has a strong argument for the SSS Silo I'd love to hear) Thanks
Andrew

 

[jazzyitalian]

Dude....

Ernie Ball makes a 2H Al Lee Model. It's called Albert Lee HH. The pickups they use are Di'Marzios. I just got one last week from Glory Days Rock Shop in Joplin, MO. I love it. I love it so much, I sold my Axis and am getting ready to sell my PRS.

It sounds nothing like the typical Al Lee. It's full and warm and clear. They make them with Rosewood Necks. You can find a handful on the ebay for a few dealers out there just to get a sense as to how they are priced.

I like the Silos. But I prefer the Albert Lee.

 

[daneford]

The Silo is one of my all time favorite guitars. That said, if I wasn't on the hunt for a silo with a floyd rose, I probably would have bought an albert lee hh, or a luke, or a jp, or a......

All kidding aside, I spent about an hour with one of the rosewood necked ones at GC a couple months ago. It was hard to walk away from. Playability and tone in spades. The 5 position switch makes it fairly versatile. This one had the walnut finish with a black pickguard. Looked nice too, which is saying a lot for me. Never dug the old sss al, but the hh is a purchase I'll likely make at some point. It's a killer.

 

[Spudmurphy]

I was a Les Paul man for ooooh over 30 years.

Switched to playing the AL in around 2005. I've never looked back.

I love the SSS and vintage trem on the AL. (never had a guitar with trem before - well apart from the Watkins Rapier I bought in 1970 and owned for a year).

The SSS has a sound that is noticable and pretty much unique!
Neck feels great too - similar to a Silo neck.

I don't own a HH AL but have played a couple and they are awesome - but a different beast to the SSS.

In my time on this forum there have been a lot of people joinning the Albert Lee Fold with few leaving - go figure that one out.

 

[Pott]

The HH Al is my favorite guitar. It's just incredibly balanced, comfortable, and sounds huge.
The rosewood neck is super comfortable: I prefer it to the Super Sport profile. Simpler, but just works better, and unlike the JP or Super Sport, has never made me cramp.

There are nice single coil tones in there too with positions 2 and 4. The stock pickups are also fantastic. And, it's sad to say, these sell for next to nothing second hand, at least in Europe. I'm not sure why. They're just amazing.

I played a live set with mine once, anything from Oasis, Tom Petty, Lynyrd Skynyrd to the solo to Hotel California. The guitar sounded a lot better than I did!

 

[jzeijen]

Just play one.. That's all the convincing you should need. You might want to consider the MM90 version, very versatile!

 

[mystixboi1]

Because this is a versatile and amazing beast.

 

[haymez]

As I mentioned in another thread, I got one of these in a trade and I was fully expecting to trade it away, but then I played it... Now I'm moving some other guitars to get a SSS AL - they are that awesome.

 

[Spudmurphy]

There seems to be a lot of love here for the Al

 

[edhalen]

I'm tempted to trade in my Reflex for an AL I found - HH red with Tort pick guard and RW neck. I'm thinking the chunkier AL neck may suit my larger hands a bit better than the flatter Reflex neck.

 

[Spudmurphy]

Great stuff - but try out the neck. My perception is that it's not too chunky - I have small hands.

 

[canuck6string]

Just play one..

+3.784937639

Seriously though. Coming from a Strat and Tele background, I decided to sell my Fenders after noodling on an EBMM for just a few minutes. The Silo Special I bought is more comfortable and more ergonomic than both Fender styles hands down, for me.

You can always change pickups and practice to improve tone. The feel comes from the factory.

Fend...no wait...Sterling Ball got it right.

 

[Stratty316]

Love my HHAL! Tone wise it sits right in that sweet spot between a Les Paul and a Strat. Playability... Well, it's an EBMM.

 

[mtrejo]

First of all, the Albert Lee guitar has a MAJOR problem…Which configuration do I get first?
Really hard to decide on this guitar as I have heard nothing but praise for whatever pickup config it may be.

I have two with the exact same pickups(MM90), piezo and hard tail. Other than that, different necks/body woods and they sound different enough from each other.

I also 2nd Job's vote for the MM90 version. Extremely versatile.

 

[edhalen]

First of all, the Albert Lee guitar has a MAJOR problem…Which configuration do I get first?
Really hard to decide on this guitar as I have heard nothing but praise for whatever pickup config it may be.

I have two with the exact same pickups(MM90), piezo and hard tail. Other than that, different necks/body woods and they sound different enough from each other.

I also 2nd Job's vote for the MM90 version. Extremely versatile.

Mario - how does the AL neck compare to the AX40?

 

[mtrejo]

Mario - how does the AL neck compare to the AX40?

hmm, well, the AX40 that I have is a little bit chunkier, with an asymmetrical carve. Not really the same profile as my Axis either. Personally, I prefer chunkier vs. thinner so works better for me.

The AL neck, seems like the neck profile can be described as pretty "standard C" feeling?

 

[xjbebop]

I shied away from Al's for some time due to the shape. Then one day a particular HH model caught my attention. I touched it....played it...bought it! I was quite surprised at how light, comfortable and well balanced they are. Now I own one of each flavor

each one is OUTSTANDING in it's own realm, and more versatile than you might think.
That said, for starters I highly recommend the MM90....if you can find one....
It doesn't quite do a thick bucker sound, but drop the tone and it sounds like a cross between the heaviest tele you can imagine (I'm a tele guy...) and an LP Jr - type sound. It wants to rock!

....oh yeah, and then there's the middle pickup....

 

[edhalen]

hmm, well, the AX40 that I have is a little bit chunkier, with an asymmetrical carve. Not really the same profile as my Axis either. Personally, I prefer chunkier vs. thinner so works better for me.

The AL neck, seems like the neck profile can be described as pretty "standard C" feeling?

"standard C" like a strat - got it! Also, I know what you mean about the AX40. My black AX40D (avatar) has that same chunkier asymmetrical thing going - which I like. Interesting that you say it's different than your Axis. I thought the SBMM AX's were supposed to mimic the Axis neck. The SBMM site says radius is 12" vs Axis which is 10".

Sorry to derail the thread...now back to the topic of selling the OP on the AL.

 

[edhalen]

I shied away from Al's for some time due to the shape. Then one day a particular HH model caught my attention. I touched it....played it...bought it! I was quite surprised at how light, comfortable and well balanced they are. Now I own one of each flavor

each one is OUTSTANDING in it's own realm, and more versatile than you might think.
That said, for starters I highly recommend the MM90....if you can find one....
It doesn't quite do a thick bucker sound, but drop the tone and it sounds like a cross between the heaviest tele you can imagine (I'm a tele guy...) and an LP Jr - type sound. It wants to rock!

....oh yeah, and then there's the middle pickup....

Speaking of finding an MM90..... I spy with my little eye - GC clearance item.....MUSICMAN (E) 935 01 RW 09 ALBERT LEE MM90 TREM RW NECK VINT WHT PG BLK (P)

 

[Tollywood]

The Albert's body is super comfortable, light, and well balanced. The neck is very similar to an Axis, which I consider chubby, in a very good way. I prefer the HH version because the rosewood neck feels wonderful. I also really love the Axis pickups, which they also use on the Al HH. If I could only have one guitar, it would be an Albert Lee... ...or a Luke or an Axis, but you get the idea!